(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wiring unit received in an electric junction box and the like, which is mounted on a motor vehicle as a mobile unit and the like.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In a motor vehicle as a mobile unit, there is generally mounted various electronic equipment, such as lamps, for example headlamps and tail lamps, and motors, for example a starter motor and a motor for an air-conditioner.
In order to supply electric power to the various electronic equipment, junction blocks are arranged at desired positions in the motor vehicle. In the junction block, circuit boards including printed boards, busbars, and the like, are laminated and various electric circuit units, such as many fuses and relays, are integrated into the circuit boards.
Since the junction block may include fuses, relays and busbars, the junction block is called a fuse block, relay box or electric junction box as a generic term. In this specification, the fuse block, relay box and junction block are hereinafter called, the xe2x80x9celectric junction boxxe2x80x9d, as a generic term.
The electric junction box has a case, control panels received in the case and so on. Electric components, such as relays, fuses and connectors, are mounted in the case. A plurality of electric wires connected to the various electronic equipment are guided into the case. When the control panel is received in the case, wires connected to the various electronic equipment and terminals of the various electric components are electrically connected according to a predetermined pattern.
In order to facilitate the connections between the electric wires and the terminals of electric components, for example, a wiring unit 54 shown in FIG. 5 has been proposed as the control panel. The wiring unit 54 has a plurality of boards 61 to be laminated with each other, a plurality of terminals 62 and connecting bars 63.
Each board 61 is made of an electrically insulating material and formed in a flat rectangular plate. Each board 61 has a plurality of hollow grooves 64, hollow portions 65 and through holes 66. Each hollow groove 64 is formed hollow from the surface of the board 61. The grooves 64 are formed in parallel with each other, and extend in the length direction of the board 61.
Each hollow portion 65 is formed hollow from the surface of the board 61 and opens to the hollow groove 64. The hollow portions 65 are formed in parallel with each other along the length direction of the corresponding hollow groove 64. Each hollow portion 65 is formed rectangular in a plan view thereof.
Each through hole 66 penetrates through a bottom position of the corresponding hollow portion 65 of the board 61. The through hole 66 is provided at a position where the through holes 66 face and align with each other when the boards 61 are laminated with each other.
Each terminal 62 is made of an electrically conductive material such as a sheet metal. As shown in FIG. 6, the terminal 62 consists of an electrically contacting part 67 and a connecting part 68 to a wire. The connecting bar 63 can be inserted into the electrically contacting part 67. When the connecting bar 63 is inserted into the electrically contacting part 67, an elastic restoring force arises for preventing the connecting bar 63 from being inserted. That is, when the connecting bar 63 is inserted into the electrically contacting part 67, a relative positional relationship between the electrically contacting part 67 and the connecting bar 63 is kept constant by the elastic restoring force.
A wire 69 can be wired along a direction in the connecting part 68 to the wire 69. The connecting part 68 has a pressure welding part 70, which can be pressure welded to the wire 69, and a pair of wire holding parts 71 provided at positions where a pair of the wire holding parts 71 put the pressure welding part 70 therebetween in the wiring direction of the wire 69.
The pressure welding part 70 has two pairs of press-in blades 72, which cut into a covering portion of the wire 69 between the two pairs thereof so as to come into contact with a core of the wire 69. The wire holding parts 71 have a pair of caulking pieces 73 for caulking the wire 69 therebetween together with the covering portion of the wire 69. The caulking pieces 73 hold the wire 69 therebetween so as to keep the connection between the press-in blades 72 of the pressure welding part 70 and the core of the wire 69.
The electrically contacting part 67 and the connecting part 68 are disposed to have such a relative positional relationship that the wiring of the wire 69 is not disturbed in the connecting part 68. Specifically, with respect to the wiring direction of the wire 69, the electrically contacting part 67 is disposed intersecting at right angles with respect to the connecting part 68 as shown FIG. 6.
The terminal 62 electrically connects the wire 69, which is pressure welded to the pressure welding part 70, namely the connecting part 68, to the connecting bar 63 received into the electrically contacting part 67. The terminal 62 is mounted on the board 61 in a state that the electrically contacting part 67 is received in the hollow portion 65 and the connecting part 68 is received in the hollow groove 64.
The connecting bar 63 is made of an electrically conductive material and is formed in a band plate-shape. When the connecting bar 63 is received into the through hole 66 and into the electrically contacting part 67 of the terminal 62, the connecting bar 63 electrically connects with the wire 69.
In the wiring unit 54, the wires 69 connected to the various electronic equipment are wired into the hollow grooves 64. A plurality of the boards 61 are laminated therein, and the hollow portions 65 that receive the electrically contacting part 67 of the terminal 62 and the through holes 66 for receiving the connecting bar 63, and the like, are selected as desired, thereby the wires 69 are electrically connected to the electric components, such as relays, fuses and collectors, according to a predetermined pattern.
As for the wiring unit 54 shown in FIG. 5, in order to form the hollow grooves 64, hollow portions 65, and the like, on each board 61, relatively complicated hollows and projections must be formed on the surface of the board 61. Therefore, a mold having a complicated configuration for molding the board 61 is required, causing a high cost thereof.
The terminal 62 is formed by bending a sheet metal. Since there are many portions of the sheet metal, at which the sheet metal should be bent, the man-hours required to manufacture the terminal 62 increases, causing a high cost of the manufacture.
Moreover, upon the assembly of the wiring unit 54, the wire 69 must be pressure welded after the terminals 62 are mounted on each board 61, from board 61 to board 61. Therefore, the man-hours required to assemble the wiring unit 54 increases, causing a high cost of the manufacture.
Furthermore, the wiring unit 54 consists of the wires 69 and terminals 62, which are arranged along the hollow grooves 64, and the connecting bars 63, which are received in the electrically contacting part 67. Thus, since the circuit constitution of the wiring unit 54 is formed with the wires 69 and terminals 62, which are overlapped with each other along a direction of the lamination of the boards 61, a restriction on circuit designing increases and the wiring unit 54 shows a tendency to have large size.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a wiring unit, by which the cost of the manufacture and assembly thereof can be prevented from rising and the miniaturization thereof can be attained.
In order to attain the above objective, the present invention is to provide a wiring unit comprising: a first flexible insulating sheet; flexible band-shaped conductors, a plurality of which are arranged in parallel with each other on said first insulating sheet, and a wire being connected to each end of said band-shaped conductor; and flexible conductor wires connected to at least two said band-shaped conductors out of plurality of said band-shaped conductors, wherein said first insulating sheet is rolled up into a roll in a manner that plurality of said band-shaped conductors are situated inside in said roll.
According to the wiring unit described above, a simple wiring unit, having a first flexible insulating sheet, a plurality of band-shaped conductors arranged in parallel with each other on the surface of said first insulating sheet, and conductor wires connected to said band-shaped conductors, can be obtained. Therefore, the man-hours required to manufacture the components, which constitute the wiring unit, and to assemble the wiring unit can be reduced, thereby the cost thereof can be reduced. Furthermore, since said first insulating sheet is rolled up into a roll, a small size-wiring unit can be obtained.
Preferably, said first insulating sheet is rolled up around an axis parallel to said band-shaped conductors arranged in parallel with each other.
According to the wiring unit described above, since said first insulating sheet is rolled up around an axis parallel to said band-shaped conductors, the wires connected to both ends of said band-shaped conductors securely protrude from the edge of said first insulating sheet rolled up into a roll. Therefore, the wires can be securely connected to the various electronic equipment and the various electric components, such as fuses and relays. Therefore, the wiring unit can be securely connected to the outside equipment, such as the electronic equipment and the electric components.
Preferably, the wiring unit further comprises second flexible insulating sheets stuck on said first insulating sheet, wherein each said conductor wire is held between said second insulating sheet and a cooperating surface of said first insulating sheet.
According to the wiring unit described above, since each conductor wire is held between said second insulating sheet stuck on said first insulating sheet in cooperation with said first insulating sheet, the electrical connection between said conductor wire and said band-shaped conductor is securely prevented from being cut at a time, for example, when said first flexible insulating sheet is rolled up. Therefore, the wires connected to both ends of said band-shaped conductor can be electrically connected with respect to each other or electrically insulated with each other according to a predetermined pattern.